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Comb, Electrophoresis

Comb, Electrophoresis

This electrophoresis comb is made from flimsy white plastic and has 20 tines. Scientists at Genentech in the late 1970s made this comb themselves by cutting it out of a sheet of plastic.

Electrophoresis combs are used to create the wells in gels for electrophoresis, a technique that uses the electrical charges of molecules to separate them by their length. It is often used to analyze DNA fragments. When a gel is poured, a comb is inserted. After the gel solidifies, the comb is removed, leaving wells for samples.